I
Purity in its truest form
Dancing above the waves and lilies
Red, yellow, green
Dots against soulful blues
Nourished by the breeze itself

II
Ghostly on my shoulder
Weighing the stones in my soul

III
The sun rests
On a dragonfly’s scales
It’s yawns are visible
On the tips of its wings

IV
Prismatic dragon
Scales ultraviolet
Ancient
Armored
Safe

V
Aquatic prisoner
Sheltered from air and light
Waiting under the second sky

VI
An agent of the most meddlesome gods
Messenger to the discouraged
Reminder of grief
Comforter to the lost

VII
Horse stinger
Snake stitcher
Devil’s friend
I agree

VIII
Elusive secret keeper
Whose ears are too far to whisper to
Oh what breaths I would share

IX
Scientifically simple
Spiritually overwhelming
Good luck charm
Or bad omen
Depending on point of origin

X
Four iridescent wings
Veined, sectioned
Beating thirty times in a heartbeat
Labor so strenuous
For a spirit made of wind

XI
Ageless
Mythic in both beauty and purpose
A serpent in life
Flight found only in rebirth
Metamorphosis

XII
Returned friend
Paused briefly on naked skin
My questions unanswered
The burn of death where four feet rested
Have you found happiness?

XIII
The sun rises in the east
The dragonfly stirs at death

I will shut myself away from the world
In Rapunzel's highest tower
I'll board the windows and cut my hair
And burn my unkept bridges

I'll hide in your heartbeat
As the shadow of your pulse
Until my ghost can stand on her feet
Until the next time you search for me

As you look, I'll be an echo in your bones
A sting in your blood, a chill down your spine
I'll sneak out of your chest through your veins
And I'll bring your soul with me to fill my skin

Shadow walker
Follow me into the light
The world will know
Your name - strong
Your suffering - silent
And the boulder
Blocking away your soul
Will crumble under the weight of the moon

Shadow walker
I understand life
In the depths of everyone's glory
Drowning in your unclaimed gold
And the tears of a silent voice
Life's talent perched on your tongue

Shadow walker
Come closer, I'll listen
Your lifesong is beauty
Cracking from unpracticed lips
Mouth dry from unuse

Shadow walker
I've lived in the dark
Take my hand
I'll be your guide.

I feel like I'm falling
Through space and time and life again
Struggling just to catch my breath

The gasps of air I rip from sky
Do nothing to keep me alive
The atmosphere congeals around me

The pressure is too much
My lungs are finally caving in
The pain of failure drowns me

The tides are always changing
They taught me how to dream
In black and white and calmer still

To leave this color behind

When I weep I remember
Unplucked eyelashes
Arms free from scars
Boxes full of bandages
Bottles full of pills

I remember
Unbitten nails
The skin on my
Elbows
Knees
Lips

When I weep
I mourn the pieces of me
My past poisoned

I am a clock
Counting eternity
Tick tock
Tick tock
tic